Street Pastors
Taunton started in 2007 following a period when local churches considered other
initiatives that had been started in other parts of the country.
A team of trained volunteers has been recruited from a number of churches in
Taunton, including St. James to provide support for young people who may be in
need during the night times in the town centre. The teams work with local
police, night clubs and have become increasingly respected within the community.
They are supported by a prayer team who operate during the night to provide
prayer backup. In the centre of town they have a “Safe Space” based outside the
Congregational Church which provides hot drinks, flip flops and a safe refuge.
Street pastors have also been used by local town organisations to support other
community events at Christmas, Carnival time,
the
vigil following the M5 crash and provided support following the flooding on the
levels. Most recently they have been working with the local community services
in one of the estates in Taunton.
To find out more look at the website:
Many churches in the Taunton/Wellington area support the work of Besom in prayer, giving of time and skills, and finances.
Further details can be found at:
www.tauntonbesom.org.uk
Members of St. James church continue to give of their time,
energies and prayers to this Christian charity.
The aim of the Chaplaincy is to serve the community of Taunton including people
and businesses in the town centre, care homes, the workforce of Taunton’s many
employers, the homeless and people in Vivary Park. Chaplains provide a friendly,
listening ear, and impartial and confidential support through the ups and downs
of life.
The people who form Taunton Team Chaplaincy are drawn from churches across Taunton, and are therefore part of the church here. There is a paid lead chaplain who supports the team of 25 volunteer chaplains. More volunteers are always welcome. The Chaplaincy office is at the Market House in the town centre and is open each morning for drop in visits and from where town centre patrols operate.
The Open Door as
set up in 1996 by Taunton Christians Together in Action and is based 1A Mount
Street near the Taunton town centre and provides meals, drinks, clothing,
shower, laundry facilities and computer and phone charging for homeless and
disadvantaged people. The centre offers a listening ear and helps with advice
and signposting to services in the area. They have a team of volunteers and a
Project Worker who helps the Manager run the centre. They aim to provide
unconditional support to those who visit Open Door. A new initiative
DoMore@OpenDoor
aims to help with
benefits, job searching and CV
writing.
The project is supported by individuals, local churches, schools, charities and Taunton Deane Borough Council.
The website provided up to date in formation about the types of foodstuffs and other items that are needed.
Taunton Youth for Christ was formed in the summer of 2000. Since then they have
developed a strategy to:
Our heart is to take the good news relevantly to every young person in Taunton.
This means that, working in partnership with local churches, we aim to ensure
that all young people have the opportunity to:
1.
Know that they are loved and valued , by
demonstrating God’s
love
to them
2.
Hear the good news declared in
appropriate and relevant ways
3.
Make appositive decisions about their
lives and specifically appropriate decisions about their faith
4.
Be discipled through relationship with
positive role models, relevant small groups, and finding their place as part of
the
Anthony Stevens is the TYFC lead youth
worker in Taunton
and works from an office
which is now at North Street Church. Contact him
at
taunton@yfc.co.uk.
Each week TYFC work in different
secondary schools and sixth form colleges across
Taunton.
We
have a presence in each of the public secondary
schools in Taunton. A new group for young people
has recently been set up at Chamberlains called
the Friday
Night
Project
For further information
http://www.tauntonyfc.com/
TADA
was started about four years ago by a member of St. James, and since then he has
been working with two colleagues to offer advice and support to a range of
people who are struggling with financial difficulties. Advisors have to be
trained to a high standard and new regulations from the Financial Conduct
Authority have added to the complexities. St. James PCC has provided financial
support to enable the team to obtain training and registration. The team have
recognised that there is a huge amount of need for financial advice and have
expanded the number of advisors and encouraged other churches to be involved.
They
now operate from an Office in Exchange House, The Crescent Taunton.
For
further information please talk to Graham Reid who can be
contacted by email at:
graham@tauntonareadebtadvice.uk
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WEC
International is a Christian mission agency,
committed to seeing Jesus Christ known,
loved and worshipped among the peoples who have
yet to hear the gospel. Most of these 'remaining
unreached peoples' are also the world's poorest
and sometimes the most marginalized. WEC's aim
is to redress this imbalance – serving the last,
first.
Our link missionaries are David and Margie
Whitehorn, who are currently Directors for West
Africa.
For more information contact:
Jenny Wakefield
(The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund)is
a one of the major Christian Relief
Organisations working in more than fifty
countries around the world, responding to
disasters, campaigning for justice, helping
local churches to do whatever it takes to
get close and stay close to the people who need
them.
TEAR Fund
has
a vision to see 50 million people released from
material and spiritual poverty through a
worldwide network of 100,000 local churches.
Some church members have been involved in short
term projects.
For more information contact: Sue Doyle
Inspired
by the message of Jesus Christ – a message of
hope for today and for the future – Samaritan’s
Purse is an international development
organisation partnering with local churches the
world over to bring hope, help and a
self-sustaining future to the communities we
work alongside. Samaritans Purse is involved in
international and national
relief work, responding to humanitarian
disasters whenever they arise. They also have
ongoing projects in many countries which
including health and water projects.
Samaritans purse
also run the annual Operation Christmas Child
enabling gifts to be sent to children in Europe,
Africa and Asia, who have very little due to
poverty or disaster.
fights
poverty through trade, helping people in
developing countries to transform their lives.
Established in 1979 as a Christian response to
poverty, Traidcraft is the UK's leading
fairtrade organisation, running development
programmes in some of the poorest countries in
the world, and campaigning in the UK and
internationally to bring about trade justice.
Frieda Davis and Lin Davies bring in Traidcraft
products for sale on the first Sunday of each
month and as a church we endeavour to use
Fairtrade products wherever possible.
For more information contact:
Contact Freda Davis
BARNABAS FUND
BARNABAS FUND’S
main ministry is to send financial support to
projects which help Christians where they suffer
discrimination, oppression and persecution as a
consequence of their faith.
Barnabas seeks to provide information about the
persecuted church and seek to encourage and
facilitate prayer by providing information,
prayer requests and resources in many different
forms and formats.
For more information contact:
Martin Wakefield